1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microcomputer network which has several microcomputer modules which are coupled onto at least one bus system and which, in each case, contain at least one test circuit for testing each module, the test circuit requiring an access to the system bus independently of whether all other modules are ready for information transmission, and for testing to determine which initiator has the highest priority with respect to all other modules which also appear, in the case that a resource test has indicated the readiness for an information transmission.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the case of transmission of information (data, identifiers, and commands) between microcomputers, hereinafter simply termed microcomputer modules or, simply, modules, of a microcomputer network, it is possible that all of the advantages of the resolution of the system program in the microcomputer network in parallel designed segments lose their meaning if the access process proceeds two slowly to the interface which is given by the system bus.
The access process has heretofore been carried out in a typical manner with software with the help of a monitoring processor. Requests from all modules in the microcomputer network are stored in the monitoring processor, whereby their priorities are checked. The requests normally serve for the continuation of a program portion in at least one other module. Continuations of this sort, which are to be seen as tasks for the module or the other modules, are then assigned to waiting modules by means of the decisions of the monitoring processor. A software process of this sort is, in general, very time consuming.